Kiddo
by Nan Ma
Summary: DLC AU. Cao Ren, school custodian, and his friend Lu Meng, have to deal with an unwanted street kid on campus, because Gan Ning just won't leave Ling Tong alone.
1. Chapter 1

From the balcony of his office, Lu Meng looked out into the twilight on the canyons. It was cold- autumn had barely begun and winter was still far in the making, but a sudden burst of cold weather made him think longingly of candy canes and hot cocoa. With the way the temperature was dropping, he wondered if there would be frost on the windows tomorrow morning. Smiling to himself, he peeled back the wrapping on a nicotine patch and stuck the brown square onto his arm, pressing it down.

It wasn't just a truism. Quitting was hard. If anyone needed an expert opinion, they could ask him- he was pretty experienced in the process of quitting, having been doing it for the last five years. It was the only self-pity he allowed himself- the coughing, the shortness of the breath, the feeling of malease and stickiness-

Movement across knolls and shrubbery caught his eyes. Lu Meng frowned, polished his glasses, and looked again.

The darkness was difficult to see through, but Lu Meng could make out a familiar slender form. It was Sun Jian's little pop star, their swim team starlet, dashing through the bushes and grass- what the hell was he doing off campus and out of curfew? Ling Tong was pretty much a model student (well, except for that one time with Chen Qin, but no one talked about that…), but there he went, hurtling through at least ten school regulations.

Lu Meng was about to yell before he spotted, right behind Ling Tong, a slightly shorter figure.

He leaned over the railing carefully, squinting. The second figure wasn't any student from the academy- Lu Meng didn't recognize that full head of long blonde hair. It looked a bit familiar, though.

It was barely a minute before the two boys were directly underneath his balcony. Lu Meng held down a cough and watched carefully as the stranger caught Ling Tong by the shoulder to stop him.

He might have heard voices, thin and faint on the wind, but he wasn't sure. Lu Meng tapped his nicotine patch idly, curiously watching the proceedings.

The blonde stranger took off his own jacket, showing a shirtless form in the chilling weather, and hung it over Ling Tong's shoulders, who, Lu Meng noted, was not quite dressed for the cold either. He saw Ling Tong protest, trying to give it back, as the stranger shook his head and insisted.

_How cute. That is absolutely cute._ Lu Meng smiled to himself as the stranger draping the jacket over Ling Tong, despite his own shirtlessness in the cold. _He must be a visiting friend or-  
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That train of thought was cut off as the boys dipped together, entwining their arms about each other in a long kiss. Finally, they let go of each other, looking rather reluctant, before the blonde boy nudged Ling Tong gently in the directly of the school again. They held hands for a moment, before they parted, Ling Tong ducking out of sight under the building and the strange blonde boy running back through the bushes, his arms clutched around himself against the cold.

Most people watching would have been quite intrigued or surprised. Lu Meng was only concerned for the stranger, who had run off in such cold weather without a shirt.

He stood back, watching the blonde boy until he was out of sight. He was just wondering whether to call after him, to offer him a jacket, when his mental gears clicked on where he had seen the boy before.

_Cao Ren was not going to be happy._

* * *

><p><em>Employee of the Year.<em> He tweaked the glass object on his desk before setting his thermos down. Employee of the year- an award he received for his duty as the campus's peacekeeping constable of sorts. Cao Ren was just about to sit down take a sip when there was a hesitant knocking at the door. "Come in," he called, wondering who had any business with him today.

It was that freshman boy- Lu Meng's little favorite. Lu… Lu something. Cao Ren attempted to put a name to the face but only came up with memories of a sweet, mild-faced youth bobbing his head up and down agreeably. "I'm really sorry, but… Can I use the teacher's bathroom? I really need to go," the student asked weakly.

He looked at him in slight confusion and a bit of pity. "Why? What's wrong with the regular bathroom?"

Lu looked at the ground, twitching his feet. "Well… It's… Occupied. There's a lot of people in there and I think they might be taking a long time-"

"Here's the key. Put it back on my desk when you're done," he said, walking out before Lu could pipe up his thank-you. He had a rather good idea of what was going on, and who was behind it.

The boy was right. Cao Ren could see the door to the boy's bathroom stuck halfway open by somebody's shoulder. He yanked the door open and shoved his large frame right in.

"Okay, Jiang Wei, you're down for two, and Guan Suo- …Ten? Ten? Man, okay. I won't asked. Cao Pi-" a sharp, husky voice called from the middle of the crowd.

"Mr. Gan! Yes, you." Cao Ren strode forward, driving the crowd apart like a cargo ship through a school of fish. "You will not smoke marijuana in the restroom," he commanded. "You will not deal marijuana in the restroom. You don't even attend this school. Remove yourself from my jurisdiction before I take matters into my own hands." Before he had even finished speaking, a familiar tawny-haired boy stood up and crossed his arms.

"Hey, hey, I'm not doin' nothing!" he protested with the cheeky, indignant grin of someone who had just been caught but didn't want to think about it. The kid was looking a bit scruffier than last time, a greasy-haired creature in a new slick-looking jacket (either a knockoff or stolen) over Salvation Army cast-offs.

"I hope you don't think I am as foolish as you. The rest of you, shove off," he said gruffly, motioning for the assembled gaggle of boys to clear out. Cao Ren tapped his helmeted head and looked down at Gan Ning, who stared right back defiantly. "Go on. Give me that paper," he coaxed.

"Why do you want it?" Gan Ning barked, crumpling the post-it note in his hand.

"Quit your whining and hand it over," Cao Ren repeated, his nose crinkling from the smell of old weed. "If you have nothing to hide, you've got nothing to fear."

"Don't feel like it," the boy said stubbornly.

Cao Ren sighed. He really was not in the mood to deal with the whiny little street kid. He wrinkled his nose again, smelling… Smoke?

"Here, you can have it now," Gan Ning said fiercely, shoving the little square of paper with a hole burnt through most of it. He flicked his lighter closed and shoved it back in his pocket, staring right back like an oddly sulky rebel.

Cao Ren scowled. "Why don't you go move yourself out of this academy now?"

"What if I don't wanna?" Gan Ning demanded boldly. "You can't-"

"I can," Cao Ren said gruffly, whipping out an arm and pinning the boy to his chest. "Come on, you are going right _out,_" he said harshly, ignoring Gan Ning's increasingly high-pitched protests.

* * *

><p>"Gan Ning showed up again today," Cao Ren complained, unbuckling his tool belt and letting drop onto the overstuffed couches of the staff lounge.<p>

Across from him, someone chuckled. "Don't get so worked up over it. He's just a kid."

"A very, very annoying and persistent one," Cao Ren grumbled. "Seriously, if he'd just straighten out, go back to school, and get some discipline into that dumb blonde head of his, that would be a great boon for _everyone_. It's not like once you're a moron you stay a moron…"

"Heh, you'd know," Lu Meng chuckled, fixing his glasses.

Cao Ren only smiled.

"First time I saw you, you were right on the cover of the 'trouble kids' article of a parenting magazine." Lu Meng continued. "My uncle said, 'you hang out with bad, you be bad, you go bad, you end up like that kid' and pointed right to you… Just shows you how much people can change."

The burly man nodded.

"I think that kid can change too."

Cao Ren looked at Lu Meng without turning his head. The math teacher had the same hopeful, placid look on his face, causing Cao Ren to shake his head in annoyance. "Life's not a movie, Meng. You aren't some hero protagonist who can take the kid everyone's given up on and turn him into, I dunno, a star chess player or an Ivy League student or something. This is reality, you know."

Lu Meng looked just a bit offended. "Well, it really doesn't hurt to give him another chance, does it? I mean, it's not like Huang Zu was really known for his patience-"

"What you're saying is easier said than done. You think he's some grateful kid who'll bowl over just because 'he just needed some love' or something? I know his kind. Don't be a bleeding heart liberal."

"That's rich of you, calling me a bleeding heart liberal. Why haven't you just hauled him down to the police station, if he's so beyond help?" Lu Meng prodded.

"What's Juvie Hall going to do for him? You take him up and four years later he'll be back on the same street corner doing the same thing," Cao Ren said. "Besides, we get rid of Gan Ning, another kid'll show up, and frankly I'd rather be dealing with someone I'm used to."

"Well, I'm sure that with the right environment, he can settle down a bit…" Lu Meng pressed.

Cao Ren shook his head. "I've been seeing him around for the last three years- that boy doesn't care about anyone other than himself."

Lu Meng got an oddly distant look in his eyes, as if recalling a memory, while his fingers twirled an invisible cigarette. "No, I don't really think so… I don't think so…"

* * *

><p>Thank you<strong> Rydain<strong> for the caption/lines that started this story:

"Mr. Gan! Yes, you.

You will not smoke marijuana in the restroom. You will not deal marijuana in the restroom. You don't even attend this school. Remove yourself from my jurisdiction before I take matters into my own hands."

Anyways, just felt like typing up something quickly. I hope you like it- tell me if you'd like me to continue- good day!


	2. Chapter 2

The sign on the door read "Breakfast- 5-10. Lunch, 12-3. Dinner: 5-9." But in reality, Huang Gai's kitchen was always open.

Many people were surprised to learn that one of the most senior board members of Wu house was dressed in a plastic apron and a hairnet, grilling turkey burgers and peeling vegetables under a vent hood all day. But Lu Meng had always taken it for granted- ever since he had came here, Huang Gai had always been doling out salad and cake in equal measure well past 'closing time.'

"Hey. Huang Gai, you don't have a dish for a hungry boy, do you?" he laughed, being careful not to cough unless if he were to be saddled up with Huang Gai's famous green smoothie.

"Since when have I not." The old veteran half-smiled and put down his bread knife. "It's ham or hummus sandwich."

Lu Meng frowned. "You don't have anything… Less… Fatty, do you?"

"I told you, it's ham or hummus."

"Hummus, then. I'm watching my cholesterol."

"Eh, cholesterol, life's too short to worry about that," Huang Gai said dismissively. "Stick with the ham. The rabbit food's for the vegetarians," he said, pronouncing 'vegetarian' in the same tone that most people used to say 'nudist.'

"No, really, I'll take the hummus," Lu Meng insisted.

"Suit yourself," the older man said, giving him a sideways look before throwing down a glob of hummus and various vegetables onto a piece of bread. "You know, I think all this hype over healthy eating's silly. I mean, we never had that healthy guide stuff in my generation, and I'm still here-"

"Along with your high blood pressure-"

"-the same as anyone else," Huang Gai continued, ignoring Lu Meng's interjection.

"Take care of yourself. Wu needs you still," Lu Meng said wryly as Huang Gai speared a toothpick through the finished sandwich and slid it over the counter.

"Hey. You too-" Huang Gai paused, giving Lu Meng an odd look and a long sniff.

"There something on my shirt?" he asked, puzzled.

Huang Gai frowned and took a step closer. "I thought you said that you were layin' off the cigarettes."

"I'm trying, okay?" Lu Meng said.

"You're one to be talking to me about health stuff. Those are coffin nails, Meng."

"I know, I know, just, once you start again it gets harder to stop-"

_Bzzt. Bzzt._

"My phone," Lu Meng said, putting the sandwich down to reach into his pocket. "Yes?"

"Hi, Lu Meng?" a woman's voice on the other end said.

"Yes? Oh, it's you, Ms. Lianshi."

"Yes, it's me. Anyways, I was wondering if you could come over to the student health building, to my office…"

"I can do that. What's the trouble?"

She paused. "It's Ling Tong."

* * *

><p>Lu Meng wolfed down the last bites of his sandwich right before knocking on Lianshi's office. "Mff- What's wrong?" He looked around the nurse's office- it was empty except for Lianshi. The long-haired young woman sat calmly at her desk, filling out a form before looking up at him and frowning slightly. "Where's Ling Tong?" he demanded.<p>

"Um, I want to talk with you about it first," she said, pulling up a sheet of paper.

"All right. But what is the problem? Is it-"

"No, no, it's nothing serious," she interrupted. "Or I would have called Dr. Wu. But…" She paused as if unsure of how to put it. "…Well, he's got genital warts," Lianshi said uncomfortably. "I… I don't think that I'm the right person to go talk to him about it."

"Why not?" Lu Meng asked, puzzled. "I'd be surprised if less than half of population here had them… Besides, I thought that he was comfortable with talking over his health stuff with you-"

"-They're on the inside of his anus."

"So?" Lu Meng said. "Either way, I think that you'd be best handling- oh."

"Yes. Oh."

"….Oh."

There was a silence.

"Dr. Wu has a lot on her plate right now… Besides, you know Ling Tong better than us. You're his advisor," she continued. "I think that this extends past being a purely medical issue."

Lu Meng was silent. "Well… But I didn't know he was…"

"Men who have sex with men are a high-risk group, especially when stuff like this isn't covered in the health curriculum. And you know… There are implications too…"

He sighed. "What should I talk to him about?"

* * *

><p>The student was in one of the examination rooms, shooting crumbled wads of paper into a waste bin. Lu Meng stepped inside quietly. "Well, hello Ling Tong."<p>

Ling Tong looked up in mid-throw. "Hey, Lu Meng."

"You just saw Nurse Lianshi, right?" he asked, standing in front of the boy.

He shrugged. "Yeah."

"And…?"

"Dunno." Another shrug. "She just told me to wait out here for a bit. Can I go now?"

"No, you may not. Anyways, you're fine, it's nothing too serious, but you do have a small infection that's a cause for concern for us."

Ling Tong sat up straighter. "Hey, what? What infection? I feel fine!"

"Well, it's a virus called human papillomavirus, HPV for short, and it's quite common for-"

"So it's just the flu. Can you just tell me what's going on," Ling Tong said, crossing his legs. "Are you saying I have it?"

The boy was a headache. Lu Meng closed his eyes for a moment. "No, it's not the flu. It's like… A wart. You have it, and it's on the inside of your rectum. Now, I'm not going to ask how it got there-"

"_What?_" Ling Tong exclaimed, standing up and clenching his fists. "Look, I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but-"

"Ling Tong, sit down and listen to me!" Lu Meng cried.

"No, tell me right now- what is it and what's gonna happen to me?"

"Calm down! Nothing's going to happen to you!"

Ling Tong kicked the chair. "Look, can't you just tell me what's going on?"

"Well, you basically have warts, caused by a virus. It's a sexually transmitted disease-"

"I've got an STD? An _STD?_ You pulling one on me?" Ling Tong exclaimed. "But I'm not-"

Why was the student so uncooperative? Wasn't this for his own good? "Ling Tong, I'm not going to pry. I just want to give you some information for your _own good,_" he said slowly, watching Ling Tong's annoyed expression. Really, what was the kid so ticked about? His fingers itched for a cigarette, but he ignored the sensation. "It's not dangerous, but you need to treat it and there are some things I'm going to ask you to do. Okay?"

Ling Tong visibly clenched his teeth as Lu Meng read out Lianshi's instructions and gave him his prescription. "And one more thing…"

"What?" Ling Tong asked harshly. "Uh. Sorry, what?" he said a bit softer. "Hey look, I'm pretty sure it's not an STD. I'm not… Well, you know. I probably got it from like, the swimming pool or something. I'm not doing anything with anyone."

"Ling Tong, look, it's okay if you-"

"That Shu guy, Guan Ping, he got a staph infection from turf burn. Didn't Nurse Lianshi say that he probably got exposed to it in the locker rooms? I bet I got something like that-"

"-I can help you. You're still growing, and I understand that this is a time of change for you-"

"-'Cause I can't think of any other way I could have gotten this thing," Ling Tong finished loudly.

Lu Meng peered at him through his glasses. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Ling Tong said, swallowing.

"Ling Tong…"

"I said I'm sure. Positive!" he said, his voice getting steadily louder. "I don't know anything about it."

Lu Meng sighed, taking in Ling Tong's quivering limbs and quick breaths. They stared down each other, Lu Meng sharply and Ling Tong defiantly, challenging each other to take another step forward. Finally, after a while, Lu Meng spoke again. "Nurse Lianshi will get the topical ointment for you," he said, calling a truce.

"Kay."

"But I've been through this time of life myself. I know it's a difficult time, and if you ever need to talk to an adult, I'm here for you-"

"Okay, I'll talk to the nurse," Ling Tong said, cutting him off.

Ling Tong only looked at him.

Lu Meng wanted to grit his teeth. That boy- did he just have to take everything as if it was an inconvenience? Did he know how much Lu Meng would have given to have someone saying the same thing to him when he was a teenager too? "Just remember, being sexually active comes with various risks-"

Ling Tong interrupted with a fierce shake of his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I mean, well, being sexually active means engaging in sexual behavior with someone else."

"I know that. I don't know why it's relevant to me."

Lu Meng sighed. "Okay. Well, if you ever need someone, I'm here for you."

"Yeah. Thanks," Ling Tong said, walking towards the door without meeting his eyes.

"HPV isn't that uncommon. If you know anyone who has it, tell them to go to Nurse Lianshi for medicine- she won't ask questions, and tuition covers healthcare-"

Ling Tong stopped in front of the door. "School insurance stuff?"

"Yes, the insurance plan covers things like this," Lu Meng said steadily, before the blank look on Ling Tong's face hit him.

As a math teacher, he could put two and two together as well as anyone- it was less than week ago that he had watched the two figures dashing across the canyon in the frosty night. Ah. Ah…

"But I mean, if anyone else from the, uh, locker room, gets it, but they don't have the health plan," he continued, "I'm sure we can work something out… We all want each other to be safe, right?"

"Safe?"

"Yes… Imagine if he was free to go off all infected." Lu Meng nodded. "Well, just tell him to stop by- we won't ask any questions."

"Well… Okay, I'll pass on the word to the other swim team guys," Ling Tong said, looking at the floor.

"Good idea."

"Kay." Ling Tong clutched the prescription in one hand and stood up. "That all?"

"That's all," Lu Meng said soothingly.

"Kay. I'll go get my stuff then," he said, walking out the door without meeting Lu Meng's eyes.

Lu Meng nodded to himself as the door slammed shut. "Looks like I'll finally meet Cao Ren's famous Gan Ning…"

* * *

><p>This originally was just the first part of the chapter, but it got long enough so that I split it into two parts, of which this is the first.<p>

Thank you kindly for your comments- it turns out that guess what, the idea ran away with me! But I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it, and your words are very encouraging.

_Edit: Thank you Unending Shadows for your feedback. This is Version 2.  
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	3. Chapter 3

The way to Gan Ning's home was more accurately measured in 'displacement,' a vector quantity, than distance, a scalar quantity.

Saying "distance" implied that perhaps you could take a bus there, or a bike there, or walk there, whereas to follow Gan Ning home, this was not quite the case.

A few miles or so away from the academy, deep in the noise and the smog downtown, and certainly nowhere near the concept of "Student Code of Conduct," Ling Tong stumbled over something in the darkness, catching his balance in the few cracks of light that shone through the patchy walls. He gripped Gan Ning's hand for support. "I wonder how far up are we?"

"Dunno. We're above the warehouse right now," Gan Ning said, pulling Ling Tong to his feet as they continued on.

"So pretty high up- ouch!" Ling Tong covered his eyes as his friend threw open a hatch, flooding his vision with a sharp flood of light.

"Yep," Gan Ning said, snaking an arm around Ling Tong's waist as they waited for their eyes to adjust.

Together, they walked out onto the rooftop, looking out at the bright, sharp city below. Plywood boards and pipes were nailed along the perimeter of the building like an unwieldy parapet, and the floor was bleached white by exposure, blinding in the sunlight.

"If they fall off, they fall off, but it is bad to say anything to them," Ling Tong muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just a quote from a book in class," he said, rubbing his eyes.

Gan Ning hopped forward, hurriedly sweeping aside bits of plastic and paper. "Ta-da. All clean."

Ling Tong blinked- his friend was a figure cast in glaring light, the features of his face thrown into harsh relief with shadows carved into his form- he paused as if stunned, and Gan Ning looked up quizzically and plodded towards him.

The light reflecting off of him- or was it a part of him?- was too bright. Ling Tong covered his face, blue and green flickers clouding his eyelids.

"Tong?"

"'S bright out here," he mumbled, squeezing his eyes are if sneezing, before a sudden falling sensation overtook him.

Gan Ning lifted him midair in his arms. Despite being shorter, he had lifted Ling Tong in a bridal carry easily and started to walk towards another hatch in the floor of the roof without too much trouble.

Shaded by Gan Ning's blonde mane of hair, Ling Tong opened his eyes to see the older boy's face inches away from his own. He cracked a smile, leaning his head into the crook of Gan Ning's neck. "I think I'm getting too big for this."

"I'm tough enough, man," Gan Ning said breezily, leaning his head in, before all too soon, he stood Ling Tong back on the ground and unbolted the hatch, grinning at Ling Tong before jumping down.

Immediately after Ling Tong pulled the trapdoor closed above him, the light muted into a soft brown glow, barely illuminating their faces as they hurried down a tiny corridor, holding hands tightly. When they reached a dilapidated door at the end, Gan Ning grinned cheekily before pulling it open and bowing to the ground dramatically. "After _you,_" he crooned in an exaggerated accent.

Ling Tong flicked his nose as he passed by into the familiar space of Gan Ning's home.

Gan Ning closed the door behind him, following Ling Tong in. And like magic, the sounds of the harried city outside muted into a soft background grain, and there was no school, no fuzz, no drugs or switchblades or gated entrances to marble halls, no urban violence or campus security. For the while, they were just two boys.

In the blocks of sunlight, dust motes hung in the air. The room was sepia- not in color, but in texture. It was a small space, about the same size as a single room in the freshman dorms. Milk crates and duct tape-wrapped makeshift furniture clustered about the room, and the bed was more of an old mattress covered in lumpy pillows and old, graying blankets. But whatever it lacked in size, Gan Ning had managed to pack enough character into it so that there was no doubt as to who was living there. The bare cement walls were pasted with pictures and cutouts of rock stars, cars, and old advertisements, all the pictures that the boy liked, regardless of the content of the piece. Hot red sports cars zoomed by grizzly bears and automatic screwdrivers, pasted over the watchful eye of a futuristic-looking helicopter. In the corner, the members of a long-gone band glared down at stacks of canned food and dried milk powder.

"Hold on… Fellow at the deli was throwing this out." Gan Ning tugged out a thick square of folded paper from his pocket and carefully eased it apart to reveal a poster-sized burst of color. He grabbed a roll of dusty packaging tape from a milk crate counter and with great care, taped his newest poster up over Bernardo's Best-Quality Shoe Polish. Now, on the slightly-crumpled surface, an beach full of coconut trees and clear ocean waves glowed in the sunset while a volcano exploded brilliantly in the distance. It was a garish, almost blatantly commercialized image, especially with the bold text on the bottom:

"Aloha Super-Spice Hotsauce?" Ling Tong snorted.

"Ignore that part."

"Well, I never knew you were into 'tacky and gay,' but…"

"Hey, lay off me, man!" Gan Ning said defensively. "No, look, it's Hawaii." He walked behind Ling Tong and put his hands on the taller boy's shoulders. He leaned in close from behind, his lips touching Ling Tong's ear. "I heard that it's a real swell place- beaches all around and birds like rainbows. Fishes the color of paint and as big as whales- would you believe it? The travel guy said that it was like paradise on earth- always warm, never cold, and you can get food easy right off the trees."

"Eh, I've heard of it. It's expensive- for rich sods only," he said.

"You don't think I'm going to stay small fry forever, do you?" Gan Ning laughed. "I'll make it up there- and when I have loads of cash, I'll take you to Hawaii, just you and me, and we'll catch us one of those huge fish and eat it, and walk down that beach, see?" he asked, reaching out and brushing his fingertips against the cold paper. "Just you wait. We'll be there."

Ling Tong was silent- floating against the backdrop of the world outside the cozy little room, the bittersweet words and the promise seemed so sad, all of a sudden.

"Just watch. I'll take you there someday," Gan Ning repeated confidently.

"I wouldn't have time to go anyways. I have school, you know."

"Well, when you're grown up and graduated, you'll have time."

Ling Tong laughed, leaning his head back against Gan Ning's shoulder. "Sure. When you make it big, we'll go there and walk down that beach in the poster. Meanwhile, well, here we are. I'll take a nice summer day with you over a dream any day," he said, snaking his arms back. He closed his eyes as he felt a kiss on the nape of his neck. Ling Tong reached out and tugged Gan Ning's hand, pulling him to the bed.

"Moment, Tong…" Gan Ning grunted, pulling out a very old battery-powdered CD player from behind an orange crate. "Shifty burned me a CD- Mad's new album," he bragged.

"Really? Well, let's hear it," Ling Tong said, leaning his chin on his hands.

Gan Ning squatted next to the outdated machine. A minute later, he stood up as the opening chords of the rock band floated into the air.

Ling Tong felt Gan Ning's weight plop down next to him as he lay on the old mattress. He rolled over to rest half-on-half-off the older boy, watching Gan Ning's face break into a smile.

"I missed you loads, man."

Ling Tong brushed a strand of blonde hair out of Gan Ning's face. "Same," he mumbled, before sitting up and pulling Gan Ning's head onto his lap.

"Hmm?" Gan Ning murmured.

The taller boy ran his fingers through Gan Ning's messy hair, deftly working out the tangles and mats. The dropout closed his eyes and hummed in pleasure, his lips working into a comfortable smile.

"Hosed off yesterday, just for you," Gan Ning said. "That water was freezing, man."

"I'm surprised the gas station owner lets you hop around naked in the lot," Ling Tong laughed.

"Eh, doesn't seem to bother him. The missus gave me an old scrap of soap, even. She's nice to me- lets me go through their toss-outs sometimes, and man do they throw out a lot of perfectly good shit. They got rid of a whole pack of Slim Jims just 'cause the wrapping was bust."

Ling Tong smiled, his fingers snagging on a particularly hard tangle, before Gan Ning reached up and pulled him down, to his chest. Ling Tong complied, flopping down with his head in the crook of Gan Ning's chest.

They lounged about together on the shabby mattress for a long time, murmuring in soft voices and brushing each other with their lips as songs about lovers, cities, and struggles passed through the gritty speakers.

Finally, sensing their mutual agreement through familiar motions and whispers, Gan Ning crawled on top of Ling Tong, never breaking lip contact, before reaching down and unbuttoning his pants before tugging them off. Ling Tong followed suite, pulling off his own shirt, before remembering something.

"Oh yeah- Ning!" Ling Tong sat up bolt upright, accidentally throwing Gan Ning off. "Ning, I forgot to tell you! Hey, man, I think I caught something off of you- a virus like the flu or sm'thing," he said suddenly.

"Ouch- huh?" Gan Ning got back on him, his face puzzled. "Whatcha mean? I ain't sick, man."

"No, it's not the flu or anything. Point is, they said I got like bumps or something, so you need to get checked too."

"Heh, whoa, whoa, there!" Gan Ning exclaimed, sitting back and waving his hands in the air. "Who's 'they,' and what are you talking about?"

"They. Uh, Lu Meng, my Academic Advisor, and Miss Bu, the school nurse," Ling Tong replied uneasily. "Look, Ning, what I'm saying is that you gotta go on campus-"

"Hey! Did you see what happened to me last time? Headlocked by the Big Armpit!"

"Who? Oh, Mr. Cao? Hey. Look, I know it's tough but… I'm going to ask Nurse Bu for help."

"What?" Gan Ning exclaimed in dismay. "What, hell no, man! There's no way I'm telling some adult-"

"No, no, she's real sympathetic- I'll make her promise she won't say a thing- she won't, I swear-"

"No way!" Gan Ning cried.

"Gan Ning, listen, we need to get you checked out and get medicine if you need it! And Ms. Bu's way chill, she'll never tell! I mean, look, after our first time when my ass got ripped up, I was fine going to her for help and she didn't have a peep to anyone!"

"This's way different, Tong- she's an authority, she'll catch me dead," he insisted.

"No, she won't. Look, I'll make her sign a form or something, threaten her with breach of contract, kay? Do you think I would really put you in trouble, man?"

Gan Ning only snorted. "It don't matter. How am I supposed to pay for the pills anyways?"

"We'll figure out something- maybe my health insurance plan covers it, but listen, I'm _asking_ you to come to campus. I'll arrange it- if we can tell Ms. Bu about you, she can help-"

"You trust her? Look, Tong, you're a spittle-shine clean record- you can trust anyone! But me? Hell no!"

"Fine! Then we'll lie. I'll say you're from the inner city school, we'll pull the wool over everyone."

"Cao Ren hates me," Gan Ning insisted. "He knows me, and he'll be dragging me to the curb in a second flat."

"Come on, Ning! Weren't you just bragging about how you can sneak right by him?"

"Well yeah, but…"

"Look, Ning, I'll keep you safe on campus. It's like here- I'm safe around the slums if I'm with you, right? Well, I'm Mr. Favorite in Wu. You'll be safe with me."

The comparison seemed to settle Gan Ning, and he nodded reluctantly. "Kay."

"A week from today," Ling Tong said. "A week from today, meet me at the edge of the canyon, like normal.

Gan Ning nodded again.

"You get to see me again, man," Ling Tong said quietly, reaching forward to touch the blonde boy's face gently.

He grinned. "At least that."

"Yeah. Now, where were we?" Ling Tong chuckled, playfully nuzzling Gan Ning's nose before unbuttoning his jeans. The older boy purred happily, helping Ling Tong get unclothed as well.

"Remember," Ling Tong whispered hoarsely as Gan Ning began to nibble the skin of his neck. "A week, at the usual place…" he murmured.

"No way I'd forget," Gan Ning promised, kissing Ling Tong against before sinking down onto his body as well. "I'll be there."


	4. Chapter 4

"Cao Ren."

The burly man turned around from examining the perimeter fence and saw a slighter figure walking towards him. "Oh, Lu Meng. What are you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing," the math teacher said. He was dressed warmly against the chill, with a gray wool pea coat topped with a caramel-and-cream scarf. His hands were full with two full cups of hot coffee, steam billowing into the air from their open mouths. "You can be a difficult man to find," he chuckled. "Here, I figured you'd be pretty chilly."

"So that's for me?" Cao Ren asked, motioning to the extra mug.

"I suppose."

"It is appreciated. You know I hate the cold," Cao Ren grumbled, taking the coffee and taking a gulp. He winced as the heat of the liquid struck sharply against this throat. "It's in my bones now- and summer had to end so soon."

"Hmm, I rather like autumn. It's quite refreshing," Lu Meng said placidly.

The campus guard chuckled. "Each to their own… Come winter break, Hawaii there I go," he sighed.

"You've been saying that for longer than I've been trying to quit smoking."

Cao Ren shrugged. "Well, something always comes up. You know Cao Cao- hard to keep your plans when he suddenly gets a new idea to mind…"

"I'd like to go to Hawaii too, if it wasn't so hot."

"Most people go for the weather, you know. What's the appeal for you?" Cao Ren asked, taking a larger gulp of the coffee. Leave it to Lu Meng to remember that he liked his coffee almost black- last time Nurse Bu did a coffee run, he kept an insulin pen on hand for hours afterwards.

Lu Meng shrugged. "Relaxation. You know, not even on the beach, but just sitting somewhere, far away from everything, without having any pressing duties on you." He chuckled. "But then again, more than three days of not having any responsibility and I'd go crazy!"

Cao Ren chuckled. "Three days? Don't overestimate yourself. I give it four hours."

"I'd also like to see something new," he added. "You know. Things I've never seen before- a volcanic eruption, a funny-looking fish, just something I've never experienced before."

They stood in silence for a few minutes, sipping their hot drinks as the autumn wind whistled by. Finally, Lu Meng spoke again.

"Out of curiosity, what are you doing out here?"

A dark cloud passed over Cao Ren's face. "Checking the gate and the fence," he said, motioning to the chicken wire structure forming the outermost perimeter of the school grounds.

"Oh?"

"Just this morning, I was looking out from the second story, over the cement wall," he said, motioning out with a large arm back towards the school, "and guess who I saw dashing across here?"

"Your little bandit baby?" Lu Meng laughed.

Cao Ren nodded grimly. "I don't know how, but he must have climbed over. I came back to the spot I saw him standing at- no holes, no nothing. Can't even keep a kid like him out? Maybe we need a new fence."

Lu Meng tilted an eyebrow. "Well, this fence is designed to keep the wildlife away from the gardens, not to stop rampaging teenagers. Besides, look," he said, pointing out back at the school to the high walls surrounding the complex. "Even if he got past the chicken wire, he can't have gotten past the wall without triggering the alarms," he laughed.

"That's the thing. I came out here to look- nothing. No tracks, nothing." Cao Ren sighed. "That boy's like a ghost."

"Well, if he's not doing any harm, don't worry yourself…"

The security guard snorted. "Lu Meng, it's not my job to wait around for something to go wrong. He's not just some little street boy. He's a _drug dealer,_" Cao Ren said, a little annoyed at the math teacher's naivety. "If I don't know what he's doing on campus, until he shows up with a signed visitor's permit, I'm going to assume that it has to do with marijuana."

Lu Meng shook his head, thinking of two figures dashing through the canyon. "I don't think it's drugs. Besides, I'm almost everyone's math teacher. Trust me, if there was pot involved, I'd be the first to know," he laughed.

Cao Ren smiled. "Give me a heads-up if you see anything off," he said.

"Of course. Well, I'd better get back to my office- I promised my class I'd have the tests graded by today. Plus I need to drop something off with Lianshi… I'll see you later," Lu Meng sighed, feeling the shaking feeling that accompanied his cigarette deprivation.

"See you then."

"Enjoy your coffee."

"I will, thank you." Cao Ren waved before turning back to the fence, scrutinizing it as if trying to figure out a puzzle.

* * *

><p>That Guan Suo! Lianshi frowned, thinking hard. Asthma? More like the pot cough!<p>

She was half-afraid to be the one to tell Guan Yu that his precious son was going through more marijuana than a goat. But either way, Guan Suo's artistic inclinations were not going to make him any less vulnerable to the effects of smoking so much marijuana than the 'common crowd'- Lianshi looked up when she heard a knock on her door. "Yes? Come in!"

The door opened a bit, and Ling Tong's head came into view. "Hey? Ms. Bu, hi, it's me, Ling Tong. I, uh… I bought my friend," he said, smiling sheepishly.

"Yes, come in, both of you," she said, standing up and smiling back at him.

The two boys came in the room hesitantly, holding hands as if for support. Ling Tong gave her a smile, pulling his friend behind him, and Lianshi hid a smile behind her clipboard.

By his appearance, the newcomer was a bronco right off of the streets, with his tanned skin like leather and with his wiry, sturdy build of a manual laborer. At least he had attempted to make himself presentable (perhaps by Ling Tong's urging, though) in a what he thought was a fashionable manner, but his silvery jacket and chains (bling, was it called?) just looked gaudy and tasteless to her.

Ling Tong gave a wave. "Hey, Ms. Bu. Uh, I bought him. You know. For the… You know…" His voice trailed off into the air.

Lianshi smiled. "I know. Well, why don't you both sit down?" she said in a kind, soothing voice, trying to put the stranger more at rest- the poor thing looked like a wild mustang about to bolt!

They did, with Ling Tong sliding down and crossing his legs, while a moment later, his friend followed suit, sitting on the edge of the seat and eyeing her warily.

"Hold on. Let me grab my notepad," she said, bending down to search inside her drawer.

"Gan Ning, quit that!" Ling Tong hissed in a voice that barely reached Lianshi's ears.

"Quit what?"

"You're oogling!"

"I'm not! What would I be oogling?"

"You know full well!"

"No I don't! Just because she's stacked-"

"See? You do know! Now quit it!"

"I'm not, I swear!"

Lianshi looked up again, and both boys went innocently silent. "Well, hello, Ling Tong. And…?" she asked, motioning to the blonde boy.

"Gan Ning," he said curtly.

"Gan Ning. Okay. Ling Tong's probably told you. I'm Nurse Bu-"

"Yeah." Gan Ning shoved his hands in his pockets. "I know."

"Well, good. Now, I heard that there's something you'd like me to check up on, is that right?"

"No," the blonde boy said.

"Yes," Ling Tong snapped, slapping Gan Ning's shoulder. "Uh, well, a while ago I came here and you said I had some kind of wart thing, and that it was contagious? I'm worried I gave it to Ning too, and I thought it'd be a good idea to get it checked out."

"Of course," she said. "That'd definitely be a good idea. If that is the case, then we can wait to see if they clear up. If not, I'll need to prescribe you-"

"Look, that's nice and all, but I don't have no money. Doesn't matter what you think I should get," Gan Ning snorted.

Ling Tong gave him a pained look. "Ms. Bu, isn't there like any school insurance thing that covers stuff in general?"

"Of course," she lied, thinking of the envelope Lu Meng had given her earlier. "Yes, it's covered. But I don't think we need to give you any treatment at first- we're going to wait and see what happens first, okay? First, HPV can be asymptomatic- you can be carrying it and not even know it."

"Won't I have those wart things though, like Tong? Look, I checked myself, Tong checked me too, and I don't have any-"

"No, it won't always show if you have it. It's called asymptomatic- you don't show any symptoms. That's why it's important to be on the safe side, and why I'm glad you came today."

Gan Ning stared at her. "I'm only here 'cause Tong throws a fit if-"

"Shut up!" Ling Tong exclaimed hotly, clamping a hand over the shorter boy's mouth before quickly removing it. "Eew, you licked me-"

Lianshi laughed. "Well, aren't you two a fun pair…"

Gan Ning gave her a suspicious look. "So, what do you guys want?" he asked. "I'm not gonna sign no papers or anything, you know."

"No, nothing like that," Lianshi reassured him. "Nothing like that at all. We just want to make

"I don't have money for a doctor. Even if I did, I wouldn't waste it. I feel fine," he said bullishly.

"I'm not going to charge you for anything, I promise," Lianshi said placatingly, speaking slowly and calmly as if treading around a bull ready to charge.

"Gan Ning, stop being so difficult!" Ling Tong snapped.

"I'm not being difficult!"

"Yes you are, you're-"

"Ling Tong… Don't you have class now, though?"

Ling Tong stopped and turned around to face her. "Yeah, but I think I should stay with Ning."

"No, you should go to class… Gan Ning, is it okay if Ling Tong goes to class, or would you like him to stay here?"

"How long's your class?"

"An hour and a half."

"I'll be fine for that long," Gan Ning reassured him.

Ling Tong leaned in to Gan Ning's face, but stopped and just patted him on the arm. "Don't give Nurse Bu a hard time," he warned.

"Don't worry, I won't let him run away!" Lianshi laughed. "Go to class, Ling Tong, or someone's going to wonder where you are."

Ling Tong nodded, and with a warning look at Gan Ning, padded out the door. "Be back soon."

As the door closed behind them, Gan Ning stuck his hands into his pockets and looked out the window. There was a silence before Lianshi took the initiative.

"Well, I'm glad I can get a chance to talk to you," she finally said.

Gan Ning snorted noncommittally.

"So. You've been with Ling Tong for quite a while now, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad. You guys are serious, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

Lianshi fiddled with her pen and followed his gaze out the window. The room lapsed into silence again, with only the humming of the refrigerator buzzing in the background. Finally, she picked up her pen and doodled a bit on her notepad, before deciding on a different approach. "Okay, Gan Ning, I'm going to get started on your check up."

"Okay. You're just wasting your time. Nothing's wrong with me," he said stubbornly.

"In that case, no harm done, then. Can you stand straight against this wall please?"

Gan Ning complied with only minor fussing when she put a book over his head to read his height. Lianshi jotted down 165 centimeters on her notepad.

"We're going to weigh you know. Shoes and jacket off," she said, watching him kick off his sneakers. They looked designer at first glance, but the inside fabric revealed them to be just knockoffs. Still, Lianshi complimented him. "Nice shoes. Those are all the rage right now, aren't they?"

Gan Ning tilted his head up. "Yeah, I know where to get my stuff," he said off-handedly, clearly masking his pride.

"I never had a pair, but maybe when my next paycheck comes I can splurge on it. How are they?" she asked, taking his weight. Sixty-six kilograms, but judging his muscled physique, he was about on par with an athlete his age.

"Pretty comfortable."

"That's good. They look pretty slick on you too."

Gan Ning smiled a bit.

She ran him through the routine tests- temperature, heartbeat, breathing, and blood pressure, chatting to him about clothes, cars, shoes- he was _such_ a flashy teenager it was almost comical. Finally, all the chitchat paid off when Gan Ning heaved a sigh.

"I wish I had all that stuff," he said. "Tong'd…"

"Ling Tong'd what?" she asked, faking an offhand demeanor.

"I dunno. I just feel bad 'cause he's a real fancy guy, but I can't take him to any fancy places or rich people stuff."

Lianshi finished copying down his diastolic pressure. "Well. Did he ever ask you to?"

"No, but…"

"You two are close- you know he's not looking for any uh, fancy stuff. Why feel bad about it, if it's not even what he wants?" Lianshi asked gently. "He doesn't want all that. He just wants _you._"

Gan Ning only shrugged, but he seemed a bit happier. "Whatever," he said, closing off the subject.

She knew that she already had a natural soft spot that was only made squishier by rounds of Korean dramas. But a smile still unconsciously emerged from Lianshi's lips- who wouldn't smile, seeing the boys like such spring butterflies, fluttering around each other so eagerly! But back to business. Lianshi tapped her pencil against her notepad. "Anyways. So, back to the matter at hand. What I wanted to talk to you about is HPV. HPV is an STD-"

"Wait, a what?"

Lianshi looked up from her clipboard. "An STD?"

Gan Ning scraped the inside of his ear with a finger. "Look, I'm not stupid, but I sure don't know all of your scientificy terms. Can you put that in English?"

She looked mildly surprised but quickly hid it. "STD. It stands for 'sexually transmitted disease.' It's something like an infection that-"

"Wait, wait." Gan Ning waved his hands. "Are you saying that sex can make you sick?"

"Unsafe sex, yes."

Gan Ning looked confused. "I thought you only got sick from hookers. Are you saying you can get it from anyone?"

"Wait a moment." Lianshi walked over to her desk and chose three brightly-colored pamphlets. "Here, look on the second page of the blue one. An STD is a kind of disease that you can get from intercourse. I know there's a lot, and you don't have to memorize them, but I want to go over the overall idea with you. HPV, Human Papillomavirus, is just one of many…"

* * *

><p>An hour later, Ling Tong pushed the door to the nurse's office open again. "It's a good thing the guys in Shu didn't do anything too stupid today, or someone woulda seen you here," he said without introduction. "But I just saw Ma Chao trying to bench press way more than he was assigned. I think he'll be coming here soon, Ms. Bu."<p>

"Hello, Ling Tong. How was class?"

"It was okay."

"As long as you stayed awake. Now, Gan Ning and I have been talking, and he's not showing any warts. Still, I think that you two should just avoid having sex for a while more, just until you're clear, okay, Ling Tong?"

Ling Tong looked disappointed but nodded assent as Gan Ning bit his lip.

"Also, it's about time you two began using condoms. You should _always_ use a condom-"

"Tong ain't girly enough to get pregnant, what's the point?" Gan Ning interrupted.

Lianshi laughed. "You already know, Gan Ning. Safe sex is more than just pregnancy protection."

Gan Ning rolled his eyes. "Anyways, I told you already. Don't want to waste my money on them. Besides, I wouldn't know where to get one."

"That's okay." Lianshi pointed to a drawer near the sink. "Ling Tong, just make sure you pick up a few in the health office before you go. Don't worry, it's confidential."

"I'll do that," Ling Tong assured her.

"Are we done here?" Gan Ning asked, kicking at the ground.

Lianshi covered her smile with a hand. "Remember to use protection, always. Okay, you two probably have business to take care of. If you need anything, come to me, kay?"

"Yeah, thanks for everything, Ms. Bu. We really appreciate it," Ling Tong said.

"Thanks," Gan Ning said in an offhanded manner, before Ling Tong grabbed his hand and ran out the door with him.

Lianshi heard Ling Tong's voice echoing through the hallway: "Let's go grab some food, I'm starved- Mr. Huang's doing pulled pork today, you'd love it!"

Before long, their thumping footsteps had faded into the distance, and Lianshi went back to listening to the steady thrumming of the fridge. She flipped back to Guan Suo's file and started writing down a note for him to come see her.

* * *

><p>I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't exactly a pleasurable read. At least I took out Lianshi's long STD speel- I figured that no one's reading fanfics for sex education.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

"And I told him right off the bat, if he didn't leave Xu Chu alone, I'd make room in the detention office," Lu Meng said crossly, rolling his eyeballs upwards towards the ceiling of the staff lounge. "Of course… Wei Yan's really not the listening type, and next thing I know, my glasses are on the floor…"

"Would you like me to write him up for assault?" Cao Ren offered helpfully, his fingers planted firmly on the plastic surface of the table.

Lu Meng chuckled. "No, that won't be necessary. I'm sure that I can get around to him on his terms."

"I think you're going to need more spare glasses."

The math teacher sighed. "Wei Yan's got potential. He's got a nature that takes to logical subjects like math easily, and I know that he understands the material very well! Just that when he doesn't want to do something, he doesn't, and well, even if he 'gets it already' I can't excuse him from bothering the rest of the class. Besides, he's got his individual needs, and sometimes they can, you know, be very individual…"

Cao Ren sighed. "He's very disruptive and has the discipline of a trout. Face it, Lu Meng, and stop making excuses for him."

"I'm not making excuses. Wei Yan's autistic, Cao Ren."

"Autism isn't an excuse for refusing to function with other people!"

Lu Meng huffed angrily. "I'm not saying it is! But the fact is, there are things that he can and can't do because he's autistic, and we can't just focus on what he can do and disregard what he can't."

Cao Ren shrugged. "It was your decision not to keep him in special ed. I'm sure you can deal with him, then."

"I can," Lu Meng said, almost crossly. "That's what I've been saying-"

The door to the staff lounge crashed open. The two men looked up, expecting to see Zhang Fei, or maybe Xiahou Yuan, but were surprised to see Lianshi's slender figure in the doorway.

"What's wrong, Lianshi? You look stressed," Lu Meng said, standing up to pull out a chair for her.

"Thanks, Lu Meng." She fell into the seat, rubbing her head. "I need a vacation."

"What's wrong? Calm down," he urged, pouring her a cup of coffee.

"It's nothing. It's really nothing… I've just got a bit of a Guan problem."

Lu Meng's hands twitched at the mention of the name. "Guan Yu? What's wrong? What did he do-"

"Calm down, Lu Meng. You're letting a personal grudge get the better of you," Cao Ren scolded, dropping a heavy hand onto the other man's shoulder.

"You know I'm not a huge fan of Guan Yu. Not that it has any bearing on his sons of course," he added quickly, "but-"

"Well, then you may not want to listen, because this time Guan Suo's involved," Lianshi said. She took the coffee cup without a thank-you and gulped half of it down, uncharacteristically curt and brusque.

"Lianshi-"

"I talked to Guan Yu about Guan Suo's nasty little pot habit- I have no idea where that boy is getting these massive loads of marijuana from, but he's smoking it all and it's a _problem,_" she said tersely. "It's bad enough that he's putting himself at risk. So I call Guan Yu, as for a parent meeting."

There was a silence for a moment as Lianshi took another gulp of coffee.

"Well," she finally continued. "Well, the moment I even _hint_ that his son's smoking anything, he accuses me of making up things to stir up trouble!"

"He is a low man!" Lu Meng said fiercely. "Trust me, that's straight-up Guan Yu-"

"Stop it, Lu Meng!" Cao Ren snapped, grabbing the math teacher by the wrist and pulling his arm down. "You're acting no better than an angry preteen!"

"Well, it is just like Guan Yu to do something like that!" Lu Meng argued.

"Anyways," Lianshi shouted, raising her voice to interrupt. "He goes on about how I'm just picking on his son, and that Guan Suo's an artist so it's hard for 'regular plebeians' to understand him, and just because he's different doesn't mean he's doing anything wrong! But then I tell him, for the sake of your son, I've told you all I meant to tell you, and it's up to you now. And you know what he said?"

"What?" Lu Meng said a little bit too eagerly.

"He said, 'Even if he did do it, what's the problem?'" Lianshi sighed and melted into her chair.

"I told you, Guan Yu is a-"

"Lu Meng, what is the matter with you? Don't get so worked up!" Cao Ren thundered.

The three of them fell into silence as the staff refrigerator hummed lowly in the background. Silently, Cao Ren refilled their cups and sat back, his arms crossed.

It was Lianshi who spoke first. "I'm sorry," she blurted. "I actually shouldn't have told you that-"

"No, you shouldn't have. Students have a right to confidentiality and privacy you know," Cao Ren said sternly.

"But if this is having an impact on Guan Suo failing algebra for the third time- I'm his math teacher, that's information I need," Lu Meng countered. "Lianshi, can you tell me-"

"Really, I can't, and I shouldn't. This is confidential business!"

Lu Meng began to open his mouth, but Cao Ren gave him a warning look. Sighing, the math teacher raised his hands in submission, slowly catching his breath as he eased his back against the upholstery of the chair. "I'm sorry," he said. "I apologize. I don't know what got into me."

Cao Ren scratched his head. "Really, Lu Meng… Normally you're the most levelheaded out of the entire faculty. It's like you turn into a whole different person when anything concerns Guan Yu."

"I'm sorry, I just get a little bit… Spiteful," Lu Meng said, chuckling calmly.

"We realized. Tone it down or you will do something stupid," Cao Ren said.

"I shouldn't have let Guan Yu get the better of me," Lianshi sighed. "It's not that I'm scared of him or anything, but he's just…"

"A bit forceful. Intimidating," Lu Meng finished for her, watching the young woman nod.

"A respectable man and good at his job," Cao Ren added. "He might not be the most pleasant of colleagues, but let's not forget that he's well worth his pay."

Lu Meng smiled ruefully. "Of course."

"But anyways, I'm going to submit a memo to Headmaster Cao. We've got to find out where students are even getting marijuana," Lianshi continued.

Cao Ren rolled his shoulders. "I'm afraid we already know, and it's a task like trying to catch water in a sieve," he sighed. "But I'll up my game. It's wrong to let an unauthorized visitor run amok on campus, much less running amok while selling illegal substances."

"I'm sorry, but who are we talking about? You sound like you know a drug dealer," Lianshi said.

"I do. His name's Gan Ning. He's just a kid around the students' age. Just two weeks he was dealing in the boys' bathroom. But no matter how many times I toss him off campus, he just keeps worming his way in-"

"Gan Ning?" Lianshi asked, surprised.

Lu Meng looked at her quizzically. "Does the name sound familiar to you?"

"N-Not really," she said quickly.

"Hmm."

"But still, do you know what I think? I don't know how far that kid'll go and frankly, that scares me. It's marijuana today, but tomorrow we'll be finding cocaine traces on the toilets," Cao Ren muttered.

Lianshi looked alarmed. "You don't think?"

"It's exactly what happened in my junior high." The burly man refilled everyone's coffee carefully. "And that kid, Gan Ning, I think he's the type to… Diversify."

"I'm sure you'll get a handle on him," Lianshi said encouragingly.

"I hope so too. That boy's no good anywhere-"

"Don't be so hard on him. Maybe we can, you know, lure him in, straighten him out…" Lu Meng said soothingly.

"Lu Meng, we are _not_ enrolling him in this academy!" Cao Ren exclaimed, exasperated.

"Oh come now, we get students from all sorts of backgrounds, and there are scholarships for tuition and services like that, especially for disadvantaged children," Lu Meng argued.

"I didn't know Sun Jian was offering scholarships for fastest marijuana distribution," Cao Ren said tartly.

"No, but he does offer them to students from underprivileged backgrounds. I'm pretty sure that kid counts," Lu Meng countered.

Cao Ren sighed and held up his hands. "Lu Meng… The last thing we need is an excuse for him to be on campus."

"Do you really think that he'll keep on doing the drug business if he has school to keep occupied with?" Lu Meng chortled.

The burly man gave him a look. "Yes."

"Well, I don't know. I think it might be good for him," Lianshi said.

Cao Ren looked at both of them as if they had sprouted extra arms. "Is that sarcasm?" he asked in disbelief.

"No, it's not," Lianshi said gently.

"Remember what happened to Huang Zu? The services worker for Gan Ning a while back. Ended up knifed."

"Well, Huang Zu's not exactly the most empathetic-"

"Ended up knifed _five times._"

"Cao Ren, really, I'm sure that we'd do a better job-"

"Ended up shot in the arm before he gave up," Cao Ren finished.

Lu Meng threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "But with you protecting us, I'm sure he wouldn't be able to knife, shoot, or mutilate anyone," he said cajolingly.

Cao Ren didn't smile.

* * *

><p>Ling Tong let out a loud laugh as Gan Ning's lips worked over his nipple. "Ning, quit that!"<p>

Gan Ning chortled and continued nibbling. The two were sprawled over Ling Tong's bed, with the blonde boy on top, pinning the student down with his weight. Ling Tong's shirt was unbuttoned, and Gan Ning was taking full advantage of the fact, his mouth playfully teasing his whole torso.

"What, you think it's funny?"

"Hilarious." Gan Ning looked up, smiling cockily. "You're so cute when you're all blushy."

Ling Tong frowned. "I'm not blushing."

"Trust me, you are. You always blush something mad when we fool around," Gan Ning assured him.

"Do not!"

Gan Ning responded by nipping him gently, chuckling as Ling Tong yelped and flushed. "Tomater-head!" he taunted, flicking Ling Tong's nipple hard.

"Ouch! What did you just call me-" Ling Tong gasped, panting.

Gan Ning sat up, grinning cheekily. "Don't matter. Anyways, you look real bothered. Let's test out those condom things you got."

Ling Tong frowned. "But Ms. Bu said…"

"Ms. Bu ain't watching from the windows, is she?" Gan Ning asked, pulling off his belt.

"Come on. We gotta at least wait for the wart medicine stuff to work or something.

"What, you don't look sick, and I'm fine," Gan Ning wheedled, tugging his pants off. "Come Tong, baby, how long's it been since last time? And who knows when we're gonna meet up again? One little fun's not going to hurt."

"Oh, all right," Ling Tong said, dismissing his concerns. If Gan Ning thought it was okay… "Whatcha feeling like?"

"Anything. I'm prac'ally starving."

The student laughed, brightening at Gan Ning's good humor. "'Anything' sounds good. Why don't we-"

They both jumped at the sound of the outside door opening and closing. Gan Ning's face went dark, and he stood up warily. "Who'sit?" He hissed in alarm. "Not Big Ugly-"

"No, no, not Cao Ren. It's probably just Lu Xun, my suitemate," Ling Tong whispered. "Shut up and wait for him to go away. He's always in the library or his room anyways."

The pair waited with bated breath, listening for the telltale slam of the door. But the from outside, the soft padding of footsteps got closer and closer, and Ling Tong was afraid that Lu Xun would be able to hear the thumping of their anxious hearts from inside.

_Knock._

"Ling Tong?" Lu Xun's soft voice came from outside the door. "Ling Tong, what are the sandwiches on the common room table? Are you still eating… Both of them?" he asked uncertainly.

Ling Tong's eyes went wide. "Shit," he cursed. "We left the plates out!"

Gan Ning only stared at him incredulously.

"Uh, yeah," Ling Tong said, thinking fast. "Yeah, me and Guan Ping had sandwiches and I couldn't find a dish drop-off spot, so I bought them back here."

There was a silence. "Guan Ping? But Guan Ping's been sick with food poisoning for days. He shouldn't be out-"

"I meant Guan Suo," Ling Tong shouted. "Sorry, I'm always getting Shu names mixed up. Anyways, sorry, I'll pick them up and drop them off by dinner, promise!"

"No, no, I don't mean that- I don't mean that I'm accusing you of not cleaning up-" Lu Xun's voice sounded flustered, and Ling Tong imagined the mild-mannered student fumbling with the perceived misinterpretation. At least he wasn't going to be thinking about either of the Guan brothers anymore.

"Hah, hah, I know, don't worry. Anyways, uh, I gotta get back to folding laundry. Seeya later!" Ling Tong said.

"Oh! Okay, I will see you later," Lu Xun said. His fading footsteps and a door opening and closing nearby indicated that the little student had retired to his room.

"Coast clear!" Ling Tong hissed. "But we definitely have to keep it down."

"Come on, it's not our problem if Nancyboy can't take background noise!" Gan Ning whined.

"No, it's our problem when Lu Xun thinks that I'm having a heart attack and calls the campus police or something and they break down the door and find you in here," Ling Tong said sourly. "So keep it down."

"Fine." Gan Ning got up on his elbows and grinned almost maliciously. "Then I'm going to bang you so hard you're going to scream-"

_Knock, knock._

"Yeah?" Ling Tong called, stuffing his blanket over Gan Ning's mouth to silence the other boy's protests.

"Ling Tong? It's me, Lu Xun. Sorry again for bothering you," a high voice piped from outside the door.

"No problem. What?" he asked distractedly- Gan Ning was putting up a bit of a struggle and was clearly dying to say something rude.

"Well, Jiang Wei, you know, from Shu, was having a study session, but then Guan Ping uh… Guan Ping… Well, he sort of got sick in their common room, so I was wondering, can Jiang Wei come study here with me?"

"Sure, sure, it's good, whatever- oof!" Ling Tong shouted as Gan Ning headbutted him in the stomach.

"Ling Tong? Are you all right?" Lu Xun asked. "Should I call-"

"Oh no, haha, that's just me burping. Ate Huang Gai's bean casserole. Hah. Hah. Excuse me." Ling Tong grabbed a handful of Gan Ning's hair and slammed the other boy's face into the mattress.

"Oh, okay! Jiang Wei, he says it's okay. You can come in now!" Lu Xun called out the door before turning back to Ling Tong. "Thanks!"

"No problem!" Ling Tong shouted through the door, before turning back to the street boy in his bed. He let go of Gan Ning's head and glared balefully as the boy rolled over, grinning cheekily. "In case you didn't notice," he snapped, "we have a predicament on our hands!"

"What predicament?" Gan Ning asked cheekily.

"We're trapped in here by two of the biggest dweebs on campus," Ling Tong stated, as the chatter of something about physics floated in from the common room. "And knowing them, they'll be in here forever!"

Gan Ning rolled his eyes. "How long can a guy study anyways?"

"I don't know, but Lu Xun normally sleeps around two in the morning, so pretty long."

"What? We're just gonna sit here quietly and twiddle our thumbs waiting for your little nerd buddy to finish his algebra?" Gan Ning whined. "Come on, Tong, don't worry about them! Let's just-"

"It's not them I'm worried about; it's who they're gonna tell!" Ling Tong flung the blanket into Gan Ning's face in frustration. "Are you retarded or something, they'll call campus police- what are you doing?"

There was a screech as Gan Ning removed the screen from Ling Tong's window.

"Gan Ning did you not notice we're on the second floor?" Ling Tong hissed, trying to drag the other boy away from the open window.

But Gan Ning pressed him against the wall, breathing hotly onto the side of Ling Tong's neck. The younger boy tensed, shivering at hands ran down his sides, grabbing at the buckle of his belt. "I'm Gan Ning. I know what I'm doing," he breathed, nipping the top of his friend's near and squeezing a hipbone.

Ling Tong shoved his shoulder angrily. "No, you only think you do. You're just- Gan Ning, stop that-" His stomach dropped sickeningly as he saw that blonde head disappear over the edge of the window. Rushing over, Ling Tong stuck his head out to see Gan Ning holding onto the windowsill for just a moment, before dropping down and hitting the pavement below at a roll. "You bast-"

The blonde boy got to his feet and dusted off his pants dramatically. He looked up at Ling Tong cockily, making a come-hither gesture with his hand.

"No way," Ling Tong snapped.

Gan Ning put his hands on his hip.

"No way."

"Come on, Tong! I've done worse!"

"I'm afraid that's exactly what you're gonna do!"

"Then go out the front door!"

"Maybe I will!" Ling Tong snapped, his collar boiling. He crossed over to the window and peered at the pavement, which seemed an awfully long distance away. Imitating Gan Ning, he gingerly stepped out of the window and hung from his hands. "Now what?"

"Drop and roll!"

"What- I don't know how to do that!"

"Oh, just drop then. I'll catch you!"

"The hell you will!" Ling Tong snapped, and let go out of sheer spite.

He had been intending to roll out of the fall, but with a jolt, found his knee making firm contact with Gan Ning's jaw.

"Ouch! You dumbass, what did you do that for!" Gan Ning cursed, heaving Ling Tong in his arms before putting him down.

"Your own fault. I _said_ that I was going to roll myself," Ling Tong told him angrily.

"Well, can't have my precious little princess breaking every bone in his precious little body-"

"Shut up!"

Gan Ning put a hand on his shoulder. "But we're out, aren't we?"

Ling Tong covered his forehead and looked up at the sky- wasn't it so much better outside in the warm, bright sunlight and the soft air than inside the fluorescent-lit room? He felt a grin spilling across his lips as a giddy laugh bubbled up from his chest. "We're out! And Lu Xun didn't notice a thing!"

Gan Ning grabbed Ling Tong's hands and pulled him close so that they bumped foreheads. "Yeah, toldya! I'm a ninja, man," he boasted. "Done shit like this before a million times. They don't even know I came-"

Laughing, Ling Tong pushed him away playfully and took a couple of steps back into the main courtyard, right as the door opened.

"Ling Tong? Are you out there-" Lu Xun's boyish face peered out. "Ling Tong?"

Ling Tong froze, carefully making eye contact with Lu Xun. "Yes? Hi, Lu Xun." He stepped closer to the door, blocking Gan Ning out of Lu Xun's peripheral vision.

"Sorry, I didn't see you go out, so I was confused…" he mumbled.

_Don't look right, Lu Xun, if you love your uncle and your aunt and oh God your math teacher (actually, I'd really rather you didn't love your math teacher but each to their own), then don't look right._

"I'm just a bit addled lately. But…" Lu Xun ducked his head, embarrassed. "Thanks for everything. I mean you're always so chill and nice to me, and I know I'm kind of new and all but I really appreciate it. I mean I know it might seem like a lot of people shove me around so I can't appreciate you being so nice- Ling Tong, is there someone-" Lu Xun began, stepping out of the door.

Without thinking it through, Ling Tong lunged forward and shoved Lu Xun back into the house. The small student wheeled back for a few seconds, astonishment on his face, before falling on his back with a squeal. "Ling T-"

"Oh my God! What's going on!" Jiang Wei's voice rang from the common room.

Lu Xun only looked around, disoriented, and stared at Ling Tong as if he could not quite believe what was going on, his little mouth gaping open in disbelief.

"Uh. Well." Ling Tong looked down awkwardly. "Um, Sorry. Bye!" he exclaimed, stepping out and slamming the door in Lu Xun's face before the little student could get up.

"That was harsh, man!" Gan Ning snickered, appearing at Ling Tong's elbow in an instant.

"Shut up! I'm going to kowtow to him so bad later!" Ling Tong moaned, grabbing Gan Ning's hand and taking off at a run. "Come on, before anyone else sees you!"

"Where are we going?" Gan Ning laughed.

"Oh, shut it and come on!" Ling Tong snorted, quickening his pace. The clear day and the calloused hand in his quickly wiped away any guilt about Lu Xun, and he pulled Gan Ning towards the more unoccupied edge of campus. "Come on!"

* * *

><p>See if you can tell where we switched writers!<p> 


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